|
Republicans Unveil "Playbook for Progress,"
Emphasizing Lower Taxes & Improved Public
Safety
HARRISBURG -- Members
of the Republican majorities in the Pennsylvania House and Senate today jointly
announced their “Playbook for Progress” -- a game plan for moving Pennsylvania
forward.
The aggressive legislative
agenda is designed to make Pennsylvania a better place in which to live and
work.
Highlighting the announcement
-- led by Senate Majority Leader David J. Brightbill (R-Lebanon) and House
Majority Leader Sam Smith (R-Punxsutawney) -- was a plan to fight for taxpayers
by rolling back the state’s personal income tax coupled with strong new
restrictions on the growth of state spending.
“We need to put Pennsylvania
back on course and that means lower taxes and controlled, effective spending,”
Smith said. “The Playbook for Progress does that. The Playbook responds to the
needs of the Commonwealth’s families, communities and job creators.”
“The spending controls we’re
proposing will help Pennsylvania government better reflect economic realities,”
Brightbill said. “State spending has outpaced the growth in Pennsylvanians’
incomes in 10 of the last 18 years. For the sake of our taxpayers, that has to
change.”
The Playbook for Progress
also calls for:
-
Election reforms designed
to ensure that Pennsylvanians serving overseas in the military are allowed
to vote, improve Election Day operations, and complete the implementation of
a statewide voter registration system.
-
Reforms to the state’s
gambling law, including addressing the controversial ownership provisions
that would allow an elected official to have an ownership interest in
gambling-related companies, along with RICO provisions and giving the
attorney general greater oversight powers.
-
A plan to make college
more affordable for Pennsylvania families and working to build a program
that would enable high school students to earn college credits while still
in high school.
-
The Keystone
Manufacturing Initiative and a renewed commitment to cutting taxes on job
creators and technology -- all designed to create a better atmosphere for good jobs in
Pennsylvania.
-
An emphasis on access to
quality health care by encouraging use of Health Savings Accounts,
developing a health care tax credit program for small businesses, and
developing a collaborative approach in determining how to best utilize and
direct any excess funds that may be held by the Blue Cross plans as they
meet their social mission in Pennsylvania.
-
Improvements to public
safety, including increasing the state police complement -- which the
governor agreed to as he signed the budget but has since refused to
implement -- homeland security issues, and how Pennsylvania is spending
money earmarked to fight bioterrorism.
-
Protecting the
environment by enhancing Growing Greener, the successful Republican-led
environmental initiative, ensuring that Pennsylvania remains a leader in
farmland preservation, securing a stream of funding for the Hazardous Sites
Cleanup Fund, and improving flood mitigation efforts.
The Republicans said that
they are eager to work with Gov. Ed Rendell to implement this ambitious agenda,
and that this agenda should guide public policy discussions during the current
legislative session.
“As you look at the Playbook
for Progress, it’s clear that Republicans are working to improve Pennsylvania
from every angle,” Brightbill said. “Whether it’s Election Day or Earth Day, we
want our Commonwealth to be a better place and a safer place.”
“The Playbook for Progress stands for
accountability, responsibility, and opportunity,” Smith said. “We hope to work
with like-minded Democrats who want the safer, more prosperous Pennsylvania for
which we are striving.”
Members of the Republican majorities in the Pennsylvania
House and Senate jointly announced their "Playbook for Progress"
-- a game plan for moving Pennsylvania forward -- at a news conference
in the Capitol Media Center on Feb. 2. Pictured from left are
President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer, House Majority Leader Sam Smith,
and Senate Majority Leader David Brightbill.
News
Release in PDF format
Chart (PDF)
Remarks:
 
President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer (1 audio, 1 video)
Senator Majority Leader David Brightbill (1 audio, 3 video)
Sen. Robert Thompson (1 audio, 1 video)
Sen. Rob Wonderling
Sen. John Gordner
Sen. Bob Regola
# # #
|
